The Loving Chase
by MadeWithSimpleBliss
Summary: Bellamy had always loved Clarke. Not that she knew. And it seemed things were going to work out in his favour. Until Clarke disappeared for a year. What if she comes back? Why did she leave in the first place? Does Bellamy ever forgive her?
1. Chapter 1

Sun streamed through the blinds into a wide, spacious studio. A paint brush moved easily and gently, leaving light blue strokes on the crisp, white canvas. The colour was bright, leaving a trail of what the artist felt was light and hopeful.

_Like the letter said._

The next colour brought a different emotion as a harsh red contrasted the blue. The red was dark and later became darker as a dark brown was added, creating shadowing and the illusion of depth. Almost a replica of what a pool of blood would look like.

_His blood._

The brush stilled, hovering over the canvas, as a ding sounded through the space. The paint brush was abandoned on a table until it was once again picked up a few minutes later. It started moving again, changing between light and harsh strokes. New colour was added; new meaningful colour. The sun that was once shining soon got replaced with artificial light and it wasn't until late in the night that the brush stilled again, leaving a masterpiece in its wake.

_For him._

**One month later:**

Bellamy's eyes darted around the gallery. It wasn't unusual for him to be found in one, not recently anyways, not since she disappeared. It had been a long year, but losing your best friend and love of your life (not that she knew that), did that to a person. After twenty minutes he realized it was a lost cause, like he deemed it every weekend and turned for the exit. In the far corner a exquisite colour made him freeze, turning his body towards it and slowly heading towards it. As he got closer he noticed that the colour spanned the top of the canvas and he couldn't help but think of the most recent letter he had sent to her studio. '_Your eyes, so light and hopeful,' _flashed in his mind and he wondered if she would ever come home to read what had been sent to her, let alone come back to the apartment they shared. The blue was the exact colour of her eyes and he got lost in it for a moment before observing the rest of the painting.

The blue was the sky, which blended into the dark green tree tops. A forest took up the rest of the canvas densely except for a small clearing in the middle at the bottom of the canvas. A person was painted there, a red dress made to look like it was clinging the body it was painted on, and a basket was being held in her arms.

Bellamy inhaled sharply, his mind memorizing every inch of the painting, every detailed being stored in his brain. He hesitated before looking at the bottom right corner. Scared to see her named scrawled perfectly, labelling it to her and becoming the first new piece of hers in over a year. He studied it for another moment, a small sad smile gracing his face before he reached for his phone, dialling a number he knew off by heart.

"Octavia, I think she's back."

**••••****TLC••••**

Octavia Blake was pissed and currently pacing a hole in the floor of Bellamy's apartment. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor each step, while Bellamy just stared at the door at the end of the hall. Octavia kept mumbling, her hands moving animatedly before she looked at her older brothers gaze.

"Are you listening to me? Bell?" His head snapped towards her, apology showing clearly in his eyes.

"Sorry, mind repeating what you said?"

"Bellamy, this isn't healthy. Are you sure it's her?" Octavia gestured at the newly bought painting that currently sat on the couch.

"We both know that's her signature."

"But why wouldn't she tell us she was home?" Octavia's anger was starting to sound more hurt than anything. "We are her family. She hasn't contacted us in a year since she left and now she's supposedly back? Again without telling us! This town isn't that big, Bell."

"O, in all honesty, I gave up asking Lexa if she was back and asked if she would contact me if Clarke came back. I haven't gone to the art studio since she left, too many memories." Bellamy thought back to the last time they both occupied that space together, shivering as he brought his attention back to present day.

"Well, get up then."

"Why? What are we going t—" Octavia gave him a look, "Oh, no! I'm not going. If she wanted to see me she would come home." Bellamy put his head in his hands, exhaling deeply as his thoughts jumbled in his head. "I think it would be best if you left. I need time to think."

Bellamy got up without even waiting for Octavia's response, instead heading to his room. He flopped down onto his bed, closing his eyes as he let the emotional turmoil spill over. Within a minute, his breathing was even and his dreams were focused on Clarke.

_They were sitting at the dining room table, Chinese food take out boxes between them as they both unwinded from a long day of work. Clarke was currently telling a story about her day, her blue eyes shining brightly and a light smile fixed in her face. Bellamy was smiling as well, although for a different reason. Across the table sat his little sister's best friend, the girl that basically grew up in his house, ate his food, and captured his heart unknowingly. The still packed boxes sat around them, a project for the weekend. _

_The decision to move in together was rash and like most great ideas, happened while drunk. But sticking to the idea, the dynamic duo found a place within their budget and within the month packed their belongings and moved in together. Clarke made it clear it was a short term roommate tenancy, but Bellamy was determined to make it a much more permanent thing._

As he roused from his sleep slightly, rolling over, deeper into the covers, his thoughts changed to more recent times.

_They had been living together for almost half a year when that dreaded night happened. Laughs one moment, a phone call and a distant look the next. Clarke excused herself quickly, leaving the apartment before he could even process what had happened. Bellamy let her leave, giving her time to cool off. It wasn't till the next morning did he start worrying. Naturally, when he decided to go looking for her, the studio was the first place he looked, and usually the last. The studio, usually booming with colours, was instead filled with blank canvases, leaving a cold empty feeling in the wide open space. _

Soft footprints moving around outside his bedroom door brought him out of his slumber. He felt groggy still, but nonetheless got himself out of bed, knowing sooner or later Octavia would barge into his room. As he opened his door, silence enveloped him, his breathing the only sound his ears picked up on. Bellamy padded slowly towards the kitchen before a pan dropping on the floor caused him to jump, a string of profanities following and then he froze. His breathing heavy and laboured, signalled fear, as it wasn't him who had swore.

"Octavia?" He yelled from the hallway. "Octavia! This isn't funny." Bellamy turned the corner, stalling as he took in the kitchen. Blue eyes locked with his brown ones, and everything seemed to stop. Time passed, their eyes holding each other as if that explained it all. Finally, he blinked, breaking the connection and speaking the only word in his mind.

"Clarke?"


	2. Chapter 2

**PAST**

A year was a long time to some, but to her it went by in a blink of an eye. She didn't have time to get caught up in the feelings or the memories, her sole intent was staying alive and to figure out what happened that night. She had gotten use to the idea that she may very well never get to see her friends and family again. Not that she really cared if she saw her mom particularly in that moment. Octavia was tough to get over, the girl had been her friend since grade school, sticking up for her and including her in her family events even though they had different social classes. The girls rarely saw each other as friends anymore. Often calling themselves long lost sisters to new acquaintances even though their appearances were stark different. The town of Arkadia were taken for a ride when these girls turned legal and their duo turned quickly into a small grouping. Between Monty, Jasper, Octavia and Clarke, they were easily able to get into sticky situations and were just as easily able to get out of them. Monty and Jasper usually got them into the trouble, but it wasn't like the girls were complaining. Most nights, Octavia encouraged their crazy ideas, while Clarke just followed with the smiles and wits to get them out of trouble.

The night Bellamy Blake and Nathan Miller were pulled into the group, was the night the wild four got themselves stuck in jail. Clarke had unwillingly made the call to Bellamy, the brother of Octavia that she had heard about but had never met. He had yell at her for at least ten minutes before ending the call with an, "I'm on my way," and then the dial tone. The four were in different stages of drunk, all quite far gone except for Clarke who had sober upped quickly when she had punched a dude that had grabbed her roughly. What was really just a quick reflex, quickly turned into her friends getting defensive of the tiny, yet mighty, blonde and before anyone could blink, they had been in a middle of a drunken bar brawl. The bouncers had quickly split it up but not before grabbing the friends and removing them from the dance floor and handing them over to the quick appearing officers. Luckily for them, but not for Clarkes anger, the bruises left on her arm and hip from the grabby guy, proved that it really did start as self defence. Both arresting officers agreed to destroy any proof of the arrests after this but refused to release them in the state they were and basically told them to wait it out till sober or get a friend to come pick them up.

Cue, Bellamy Blake. He stormed into the precinct, demanding to know where his little sister was before stomping over to where the front lady directed him. He first saw his sister, passed out on the lap of Monty Green, who had his head passed out on the shoulder of Jasper Jordan. He scanned over all three of them before his eyes landed on the blonde in the corner. She hadn't noticed him yet, so he took the time to check her over. The bruises on her arm were visible in her tank top, and the pair of tight black jeans she wore showed off her slightly defined muscles easily. Bellamy instantly knew who this was. The princess that Octavia had fawned over becoming friends with since the first day of kindergarten. And when she succeeded in that, it was non stop Clarke talk since. He also knew who she was based on the fact her family owned half of the town they currently resided in. As they made eye contact, she stood up as he slipped an angry mask onto his face. He struggled to keep it up when she started speaking, however.

"Bellamy? I'm Clarke, Octavia's friend…," Clarke trailed off, searching his face for a second before continuing. "I wish we weren't meeting in these circumstances. It was a large misunderstanding that we have already straightened out with the cops, but they refused to let us leave in the state we are in." Bellamy nodded, the officer having already told him this after he assumed he had to post bail for the idiots. Clarke waited for an answer, but when she didn't get one, she rolled her blue eyes and went back to her friends, shaking them softly to wake them up.

"BELLAMY BLAKE!" roared Octavia, running/stumbling to the bars in front of him. "You should have seen it! Clarke punched the dude and broke his nose, and then it was like war. There was hair pulling, and pinching, and punching, and some more hair pulling. It was something out of a chick flick, it was awesome." Octavia kept babbling, a huge smile plastered on her face.

When the officer unlocked them, the other three slowly made their way out as Octavia kept talking to Bellamy, loudly. "Hey, big bro? Clarke is gonna stay over, kay? 'Cause she can't go home or Wicked Queen of the Griffin house would put her head on a stick and roast it for coming home so late…" Her voiced trailed off as he snuck another look at the towns princess, her face turned away in what looked like embarrassment. He made sure to make appropriate noises to show he was listening to Octavia.

Once he managed to wrestle everyone in the truck, he was able to drive in silence to Monty's house to drop off the boys. From there he drove to their family home.

The Blake's hadn't grown up with money, far from it. But their house was still modest and big enough to house the three bodies living in it. As they pulled into the driveway, Octavia was once again sleeping, so Bellamy carried her up to her room, an intrigued Clarke following them the whole way. Of course Clarke had been there many times but she found their home was more homey than hers, and loved taking it in as she walked down the hallways. The furniture slightly mismatched showed some love unlike the furniture that was staged in her house. She thanked Bellamy as he left, him grunting in response. And she didn't see him again, until a year later.

Not long after that night, Clarke had left to go do a year of university abroad. Her mothers idea, of course. Octavia and her spent most nights video chatting while doing homework. Other nights they chatted while drinking wine simultaneously. It wasn't the same as it was before, but they were managing. Four months into Clarke's leave, Octavia's life was flipped. Clarke came home for Aurora's, the Blake's moms, funeral. She held her friend while she cried and spent the week helping her get things in order. By the time Clarke left to go back to school, Bellamy had moved back home full time and Octavia turned down all Clarke's suggestions of her moving back home. Things continued on from there. Their late night meetings started going from daily to weekly, before ending up bi-monthly. Octavia had gotten a job and Clarke had started dating Finn Colins.

The next time the girls saw each other in person was a year later for friends-giving. Clarke brought Finn, and they all had a quiet evening at Octavia's. Clarke was happy to be back with her main friends, but especially back home with Octavia. Finn wasn't loved by the group, but it was the first long-time boyfriend of the princess, and they all gave him the benefit of the doubt. All except Bellamy. Bellamy glared all night at Finn, something Clarke later would yell at him about, especially cause they weren't friends or anything.

"Stay out of it, Bellamy! Why do you even care? It's not like you care about me. Only reason you have to put up with me is because of Octavia. We both know that and we are both fine with that arrangement. " Clarke had finally lost it when she went to leave that night and Bellamy had stopped her on her way out to Finn. "It was great seeing you again, Bellamy. Please don't feel offended if your invitation for next years gets lost in the mail." She walked away before he could comment, getting in the car with Finn and driving away.

Clarke didn't like to admit defeat, so when she moved back home a year and a half later, and continued school at the local art school, some suspicions came to light. She had moved into an apartment with Octavia, who was so excited for the blonde to be back, and it didn't take long for the group to go back to their ways. It was on one of those nights that the gang ran into Raven Reyes, a tall brunette who sought out Clarke from across the bar. The two girls had a hushed talk which ended with tears and an everlasting hug. It would later become knowledge to the group everything that went down between Clarke, Raven and Finn. The group accepted Raven, and the five lived life to the fullest.

Bellamy and Clarke were still not close but they weren't as hostile towards one another. Everyone noticed except them that Bellamy had became protective over Clarke. He got Nathan to background check every boyfriend and girlfriend Clarke had in the next two years, and when Octavia finally moved in with Lincoln, Bellamy practically threw the idea at a drunk Clarke. When they moved in together, they quickly became closer and before anyone really knew it the two of them had inside jokes and were possibly even closer than Clarke was with Octavia.

Although their living situation was to only be short term, they were still living together when Clarke decided to open her own art studio and gallery. Bellamy had helped her as much as he could after his own job teaching at the local high school. Both were doing well in life until that dreaded night that Clarke just packed up all her bags and left. Only letting one person know what was happening and then disappearing for good. Until now.

**Present Day**

Her blue eyes found his brown ones and she struggled to find the words to speak. All her emotions were in a turmoil. He hadn't changed much although he looked tired. His hair was longer now, something she wasn't use to, but quickly decided she liked it. When he spoke, she broke. The tears flowed warm and quick, and she wrapped her arms around her self tightly.

"Bellamy, I'm so sorry. I should have let you know I was okay. Let you know I was leaving. But I need you to forgive me. It doesn't need to be now, but I need to know that one day soon, when I tell you the truth, you can forgive me." Bellamy stared at her, wanting nothing more to wrap her in his arms, and whisper that everything would be okay.

"Clarke, what are you… where have you been? I've been looking for you for a year." Bellamy ignored her pleads, still not grasping that she real and in person right in front of him. Before he processed it any further, he wrapped her in his arms. "You're real." Clarkes sobs became louder and she grasped him close to her, almost as if she truly didn't believe he was real.


	3. Chapter 3

Warmth was seeping into every bone in her body, and she couldn't help but to bury herself deeper into it. The ease and relaxation in her bones was foreign and she couldn't help but feel safe. Clarke wasn't use to that feeling anymore, and she couldn't help it when her eyes flew open and she jumped to get away to a corner. She didn't make it far though, as a heavy arm had been wrapped around her waist and had pulled her tight against their body. She stilled, her eyes trained on the thin white piece of cotton that she was against. The warmth was radiating behind the cloth, and she took a deep calming breath to centre herself. The scent that could only be describe as man, assaulted her nose and her eyes lifted to the head that rested above her.

Bellamy Blake was still as he pretended to be asleep. The first time the blonde had awaken was to a nightmare. That's when he realized they had fallen asleep on the couch while talking. He instantly starting combing her hair with his fingers, and she calmed enough to fall back asleep. From there he watched her for a couple hours. She would occasionally mumble and twitched and he would instantly run his fingers gently over her forehead, brushing her golden curls away with the dreams. The final time she woke, she jumped and went to push away, his arm instinctively tightened and he slowed his breathing once he felt her relax. He probably should have opened his eyes then but when he realized that she fit perfectly against his body, her head sitting below his chin and their legs slightly intwined, his resolved broke and he decided to savour it for as long as he could. Her intake of air against his thin shirt, sent goosebumps up and down his arms. She shifted slightly then and he prepared for the inevitable slip out of his arms but it never came. After a few more minutes, he felt her fingers reach up and brush his longer curls out of his eyes. He slowly opened his eyes and her fingers continue playing, exhaling slowly as he peered into her blue eyes.

"Sorry," she stated quietly, her hand withdrawing and landing back on his chest as if to push away. Bellamy just squeezed his arm around her waist a bit more while shaking his head, letting her know not to be. He was hesitant to talk, enjoying what was happening just a bit too much. "I've missed this you know? Our late night talks and movie nights and falling asleep on this couch. Just as comfy as I remember." He smiled slightly at the memory of buying this couch. And he couldn't help but comment, his voice rough and raspy.

"Well, you did pressure me into getting the more expensive one so that we'd be more comfortable."

"True and it wasn't really pressuring. I stated the facts and the facts won. But that wasn't really what I meant." She trailed off at the end as a noise resonated through the apartment. The front door opened loudly and closed, footsteps heading towards them.

"Bellamy, I swear you better be dead or magically getting some really good sex for the last twelve hours. I've called like a million times since last night!" Octavia growled as doors continued to open and close loudly as she went through each room. She finally came to the living room, seeing a flash of blonde hair as she came closer to the end of the hall. "What skank is here this time Bellamy. My god, you can't keep going on bingers and bringing strays home every time you—"

She froze as she spotted Clarke who had gotten up off the couch through her rampage and was now standing beside the window, hands moving nervously. O noticed her mistake right away, and much like her brother last night, Octavia's mouth opened and closed a few times before rubbing her eyes and looking again. Clarke looked at Bellamy pleading for help before sheepishly looking at Octavia.

"Hey, O."

**Ten Minutes Later**

The trio sat around the dining room table, silent and all fidgeting differently. Octavia hadn't stopped staring at Clarke, which had caused Clarke to look anywhere but her. Bellamy watched them in interest, waiting for one of them to break the silence. A phone buzzed from inside a bag but no one moved to answer it, no one ready to break the calm. Clarke wasn't ready for the moment she knew was about to happen and as she waited for Octavia to finally give in and talk, she reflected on what she should tell them. The last year was a roller coaster, and who knows if she was really safe yet. But one decision she hadn't regretted yet was coming home and that was enough to get her ready for this. She took a second to look at Bellamy and give him a look, and he responded instantly with that small smile he always had for her.

"So… details. On where you've been?—"

"Octav—"

"—for a year"

"OCTAVIA, ENOUGH!"

"Bell, it's okay. She has a right to ask and know. And so do you." Clarke placed her hand on his hand before snatching it away quickly under Octavias watchful eyes.

"Um, as you know, the night I left I had gotten a phone call. It was a lawyer, contacting me with sensitive information. That said information caused me to have to make some tough decisions and the reason I chose not to tell you was I needed you not involved. I had some help, and was able to make a clean break. I had tried to leave some clues for you, but after I would plant them, something would happen and I was never able to follow through meeting with you. I couldn't risk it. The painting was a test, and when you found it and no one followed you, I was given the okay to come home. I'm not sure it's even safe to be here, but I missed you guys, all of you." Clarke had hugged her knees to her chest throughout her talking, caving in on herself.

"What was so bad you couldn't tell us? We could have helped you, made sure you were safe," Octavia bulldozers through, her older brother remaining silent as the information he had just received rotated through his mind.

"If I had told you, you would have been involved. I couldn't let you possibly be used against me, I needed a clean break."

"So now what? We are just supposed to forget that we lost a year with you and just move on. Just show up to our group's movie night and instead of telling them where you been just act like you never left?"

"NO!" The Blake siblings looked sharply at Clarke, who rushed to explain. "They can't know. I can't go to movie night and they can't know I'm back." Bellamy finally closed to chime in.

"Clarke, you're planning on just hiding here? They'll know something is up. First off, I'm not leaving you alone now that we just got you back. And second off, I'm a horrible liar." Octavia and Clarke gave each other a look as they nodded in agreement at what Bellamy said before breaking down into laughter, Bell looking at them crazily. "What's so funny?" The girls continued their fit of laughter, tears filling their eyes as they struggled to breathe. Bellamy soon joined and the laughter filled the apartment before sobs quickly over took. Octavia pulled Clarke into her arms and held her for dear life, both girls sobbing into each other. They both mumbled incoherently, but the tears flowed freely. He wiped his own tears as the girls smiled at one another moving into the living room and leaving him to sit and reflect.

Bellamy watched them with pain, everything really hitting him for once. He knew Octavia was hurting but he had been selfish and only thought about him this past year and what her disappearance had done to him. But Octavia was in pain, if not more than he was at the moment. Her sister was finally home, the girl she had been glued too for most of her life. Octavia had lost a family member, and instead of being there for her these past eleven months, she had tried to make it easier for him, tried to make the pain less for him. His little sister wasn't so little anymore and that was going to take some getting use to. Their voices were sounding light again, laughter bubbling down the hall into the kitchen, causing him to smile, instantly moving towards the infectious sound.

"You're telling me that Jasper found a girl that is nerdier than him?" Octavia nodded comically.

"That's not all, Monty and Miller are totally doing one another." Bellamy's eyes widen on this but the girls paid him no mind and kept powering through.

"NO WAY! We called it, we so called it."

"Yes, but when they decide to let us in on their secret, act surprise. We aren't supposed to know."

"Well, of course, can we drop hints though? Because that information is too hot to handle." Their giggles continued and Bellamy felt left out. Clarke was smiling widely as Octavia dropped another bomb.

"Murphy, went from asshole McGee to hush phone calls and not voicing his opinions every ten-seconds. He is either getting great sex or horrible sex. Maybe both." Clarke laughed again but with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She looked towards Bellamy.

"If it's not too much to ask, could we go to the studio. I have something I want to grab. O, you can come with." Bellamy nodded, but Octavia declined opting to go home to Lincoln after several reminders to not let him know Clarke was back.

Half an hour or so later, Clarke stood outside the frosted doors to the Gallery. She had already unlocked the door but hadn't taken the step to actually open it. She knew it was fifty-three steps to the back stairs and from there, sixteen steps to another locked door. Then everything she needed and had wanted in life would be right in front of her. Including the boy her heart wanted but her brain hadn't realized yet. Walking through the Gallery took longer than expected as she observed all the paintings that Lexa had approved to be on the walls. From there she stalled heading up the stairs, stating random facts and tidbits to Bellamy who played along with her game. At the top, Clarke starting shaking her head, stepping backwards down the stairs before running into Bellamy's chest.

"Princess, you can do this. Open it up, and you'll see," Clarke stayed against him taking even breaths, a hand playing with his sleeve of his jacket absent-mindedly. She paused a bit longer before cursing under her breath and just unlocking the door and strolling in.

The canvases were all covered up, layers of fabric hanging loosely on every visible splash of colour. All the surfaces were covered in a good inch of dust, the room a remnant of what it once was. Bellamy hung back, watching her make her way around the room, looking briefly under each sheet and scrunching her nose cutely each time she didn't like what she saw. After she exhausted every visible option she stared off at a blank wall that held the only uncovered art piece which just so happening to be a large empty frame hung against the wall. She walked towards it before gently whispering Bellamy. In the large spacious room, the sound travelled straight to him and he instantly headed towards her. She grabbed his hand in her right hand before pushing the frame to the right, a false wall appearing and revealing a metal vault like one in a bank. Clarke entered the code and she stepped inside, Bellamy staring in wonder.

"I've been in this studio for hours on end and have never known of this vault," He spoke up, looking at all the art pieces stored neatly in here.

"Well, if you knew about it, when I left you would have checked in it and found everything I hid from you because you needed to receive them from me. Also, Lexa doesn't even know about it, and since I changed the locks when I left and had the only key, no one was getting in here unless they broke the door down." Clarke smiled softly, finding a bundle of canvases and yelling triumphantly. "I found it, thank goodness." Bellamy looked confused as she handed him the bundle, encouraging him to open it.

"What is it?"

"It's a gift, just open it." Clarke pushed it once more before smiling as he started to unwrap it. The bundle consisted of three canvases, all a continuous painting separated between them. It was a realistic image of a couple Christmas's ago, the whole gang around an outdoor Christmas tree took up the centre one. The other two went on either end and completed the background of the middle one. She had been working on it to give to him this past Christmas, but since she wasn't here she waited to give it to him. Bellamy's heart swelled, it was the first piece of art she had ever given him, not counting the one he had purchased the day before. He looked up to search her face to find her smiling and rocking back and forth on her feet.

"I love it." He said sincerely, pulling her into a big hug and holding her tight, still feeling surreal that she was real and home.


	4. Chapter 4

Octavia sat in shock at her kitchen table. She had just finished dinner with Lincoln, who had stepped out to grab them desert. She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Clarke was home. And although she was the better liar of the two Blakes, she couldn't handle keeping it from Lincoln anymore. He was already suspicious of her zoning out and random texts at all times of the night. Clarke had gotten use to messaging her when she couldn't sleep, claiming she didn't want to bother Bellamy with such a stupid issue. But she apparently had no problem bugging Octavia with it. Although, O wasn't really complaining because she missed this the most. The late night texts and phone calls about menial things because everything had to get shared in the moment, it's how they were. Things otherwise were going well the past two weeks. The Princess was safely locked away in her tower, either her apartment or her gallery, and life went on for the most part the same.

Except for Bellamy. Because for a grown man he sucked at lying/omitting the truth and couldn't be trusted to not blow the whole thing. He had contently stayed home when not at work, spending time with his favourite blonde catching her up on things within the group, although he noticed that she wasn't as surprised as he thought she would be, and grading papers from home. His students notice that the old Mr. Blake had returned, a huge improvement from the hard ass, strict teacher they had the past year. They speculated that he must be in love, cause he was acting how he was when Ms. Griffin would stop in for guest teachings about the history of art, all lovey-dovey.

Bellamy didn't see this though. Sure he was much happier now, but he assumed he was doing a great job hiding his feelings. He got home from work one night to see Clarke staring at him with puppy dog eyes. He knew he had caved from the instant he saw her, so he asked what she wanted. At first it seemed like a simple task, grocery shopping, easy. However, as he walked the aisles it became clear he should have brought Octavia. The cart was half full with stuff he had never heard of, and he currently stood in the tampon aisle looking for the specific brand Clarke had wanted. Of course they had none on the shelf, so he stuttered through talking to an employee who had graciously went to grab some from the back stock.

Monty, Jasper and Murphy were all on snack duty for movie night, the downside to not hosting. Raven had told them tonight was a horror night, so they stocked up on popcorn and sharable candy, now just wondering the store to see if they had anything else to get. They spotted a pretty familiar mop of hair in the pharmacy area of the store, yelling out Bellamy's name as they headed in that direction. The boy's eyes widen as he turned away from them quickly, ducking down and trying to figure out an escape plan.

"Bell, what you doing here? I thought you were on setup duty for tonight." Bell cursed internally, tonight was movie night and he totally forgot he was hosting. Bell plastered a smile on just as the worker came back with his box of tampons he needed.

"Oh ya know, just doing my grocery shopping." He placed the box in the cart busying himself.

"For tampons? Did you grow a vagina that we are just finding out about?" Jasper asked baffled, looking at the other two male who were equally as shocked."

"Or did you finally move on from Clarke and found a new girlfriend? Please tell us it's not Roma again. I thought we moved passed her." Monty rambled on as Murphy surveyed the cart again before trying to make eye contact with Bellamy. Bellamy was starting to sweat and chuckled nervously as he moved down the aisle backwards, hoping to make a quick break.

"No, no new girlfriend, or old girlfriend. These are for when Octavia comes over, you always gotta be prepared. Anyway, I'll see you tonight in like I guess an hour." Bellamy started walking away when the footsteps continued to follow him.

"Well, we are ready to check out as well so we will just follow you." Bell stared at the three men incredulously, before nodding and continuing to head to check out.

Bellamy ran up the stairs to his apartment at record speed. He had managed to get a couple lights ahead of the boys giving him time to prep Clarke. He didn't understand how both himself and Octavia managed to forget about the weekly movie date being at his house this week, but he was thankful he had some kind of warning however last minute it was.

"Princess, we have a problem—" he started as he rounded into the kitchen, spotting Octavia, Raven and Lincoln sitting at the dining room table. "uhhhh,"

"Princess? Are you missing Clarke so much you decided to start calling everyone her nickname?" Raven stared at him oddly, Octavia placing her head in her hands as he stuttered out nonsense.

"Uh no. Just talking to myself and sometimes I pretend she's here to make me not feel as crazy?" He phrased it as a question cause he honestly didn't know what was happening. A couple seconds after, the door opened again and the boys walked in, laughing about something.

"Ohhhh pow-wow in the kitchen? Are we talking about Blake's new girlfriend?" Monty asked as he grabbed himself a beer.

"Girlfriend?" O asked, giving him a pointed look.

"Can we stop with the girlfriend talk? There's no new girl in my life, or old girl in my life," he quickly amended. "and are we going to watch a movie or are we gonna stand in my kitchen all night?" He asked as he moved himself into the living room to start the movie Raven had decided on. The group followed, Monty and Jasper still conspiring that there was a girl in the apartment that he was hiding. Soon everyone was in on the idea except the Blakes who both started denying right away.

"See, suspicious! I'm going to go look!" Jasper shouted, heading down the hall but not making it far before Murphy stopped him.

"I'll go look. If there is someone in his room, and they meet you two, first, she's gonna break up with him before we get to meet her. I'll go see, and come back with a verdict." Murphy looked at the siblings before heading down the hall.

"Make sure you look under the bed and in the closet!"

"Murphy you really don't have to!" Bellamy called out over Monty. The group stayed in the living room but everyone was looking down the hall at where Murphy disappeared, oblivious to the panicked looks between the Blakes. Silence continued to envelope the apartment as they waited for the verdict. They didn't wait too much longer before Murphy walked out looking sad.

"Out of luck guys, he was telling the truth!"

Both Bellamy and Octavia let out the breath they were holding, and within minutes the group was seated and enjoying the opening credits of the movie. Laughing and roasting each other through out. The rest of the night went on as usual, the movie ending as the group talked about anything and everything as the night dwindled down. Bell wasn't entirely sure how it happened, but the talk switched to Clarke, a subject that hadn't been touched in a few months.

When she first went missing everyone talked about her, and tried to find her. Monty did some digging and searching for her but nothing came up. After the initial months, Bell asked everyone to stop bringing her up, he wanted to try and move on. Not that he ever did. He stayed out of the convo as much as possible, letting them talk and tire themselves out. An hour or so later, he closed the door behind the last of the group, locking the door and rushing to Clarke's room. He started apologizing and stopped quickly, as he realized it was empty. He panicked for a bit, running to his room, before noticing the scrap of paper on his bedside table, a note from the Princess herself. He sighed as he read that she had gone to the gallery. He sighed and plopped onto his bed, thinking of the events from tonight before grabbing his laptop, a new task in mind. He started googling events that had happened from the time Clarke left, from police incidents to court reports. He then searched the same in some of the places Clarke mentioned staying in, trying to connect more of the dots prematurely. He tired after twenty minutes or so, deciding to grab a quick shower before Clarke got back.

Clarke ran into Bellamys room when she heard the front door open the first time. Octavia, Raven and Lincoln's voices travelled down the hall, and she panicked. She was still in her Pj's and couldn't go back to her room without signalling she was there. She climbed into Bell's bed instead and played on her phone, trying to be as quiet as she could. Twenty minutes later, Bell bursted into the apartment, making her hold her breath as he called out her nickname. Five minutes later, she was finding a place to hide as she heard Monty and Jasper come up with a plan. She relaxed as Murphy announced he would do it. She still stayed out of view, but she smiled softly when John entered the room. He hugged her quickly, murmuring that he was happy to see her safe and sound. They couldn't talk like she wanted but he handed her a set of keys, Bellamy's when she looked closer, and told her to go to the Gallery for a bit and that he would see her there afterwards. She nodded and after he left to go report his findings she stole a hoodie from Bells' closet along with a hat and climbed down the fire escape and ran to Bellamy's car.

She always enjoyed her studio, and although there was a lot more business to attend to than art, she always found time to paint. That's how Murphy found her hours later. Stripped down to her sports bra and Pyjama shorts, she was covered in dried paint staring at the landscape she had created. At the sight of John, she smiled and ran to give him a big bear hug, kissing his cheek and thanking him over and over.

"You guys suck at lying." Murphy joked as they moved to sit on the couches in the corner. Clarke laughed herself, agreeing completely as she sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Clarke and John Murphy always had a weird bond from the day they met. Everyone also told her how big of an asshole he was, but he quickly became a big brother to her, different in the way she saw Bellamy. He never told her no to ideas she had but rather pointed out the exit strategy and the negatives to look out for. He was smart and caring, but not a lot of people got to see this side. Maybe thats why she knew she could confide in him when she left a year ago. The only person in the group to have maintained contact with her. Which was hard enough to not tell Bell and O about, but Murphy kept her alive. He made sure she was safe and in good hands. It helped that his job had promoted him a couple months before hand. And he could use his business trips as a cover most times to check on her. Of course, Bellamy would soon find out about the role one of his friends had in the disappearance she made, but she could only hope Bellamy would keep a level head about it.

Murphy and her talked for a while longer, before they both deemed it safe to leave. Clarke donned her disguise once more before heading home, Bell running out to meet her. He hugged her, breathing in her scent like he often did when they were separated for any long period of time now a day. As they pulled back, Clarke sighed and grabbed Bellamy's hand. Pulling him to his room and climbing onto his bed, patting the spot next to her. He did as asked, confused in what was happening.

"Bell, I think we need to talk."

"Clarke, you okay? Whats wrong?"

"Its time you know what went down before and after I went away."


End file.
